Hard to know how widespread the use of low-hours contracts is in Ireland

While there are growing accusations that employers are using zero- or low-hours contracts to exploit staff, there is no solid data available on how widespread the practice is in Ireland.

The Government recently appointed a team from the University of Limerick to examine the prevalence of these contracts. Ministers have pledged to act if the review finds employees are being exploited.

A zero-hours contract is one where the employee is available for work but does not have any specified hours.

However, employers are obliged, in theory at least, to compensate workers who are required to be on call but are not used for work.

Under the Organisation of Working Time Act (1997), workers must be paid for 25 per cent of the hours when they were on standby or paid for 15 hours, whichever is less. These protections do not extend to casual work.

Most employment lawyers say zero-hours contracts are unlikely to be used to any significant degree in Ireland on the basis that – if they did exist – lawyers would be among the first to see them.

Hotly debated

In the UK, where the practice has become a hotly debated political issue, latest figures show 2.3 per cent of the workforce are on zero-hours contracts, mostly in areas like retail, hospitality, health and education.

Whatever about zero-hours contracts, we know many on part-time hours are struggling and, in some cases, are available to work full-time. The latest Quarterly National Household Survey data shows there are almost 125,000 workers underemployed – that is working part-time but not doing as many hours as they would wish.

About one in five workers is earning less than the ‘living wage’, a sum above the minimum wage but below what campaigners consider to be enough to make ends meet. One in six people in poverty has a job, a figure that grew during the recession.

Campaigners say many on low incomes are part of a growing ‘precariat’, stuck on short-term contracts and with little hope of progression in their jobs.

Ibec says some employers should be allowed flexibility when it comes to staff.

But Ictu feels companies are often trying to avoid offering full-time contracts.